House of Glass

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Ranching is in my blood.It’s all I know.I’ve been a rancher my whole life, and
the only thing that matters more then how much cattle you have is how you brand
them.It’s a busy time of year,
because you can’t possibly brand your cattle on your own. Instead, all the
neighbors get together and help out.

The
night before we brand, I can’t sleep.Energy is running through my veins and I toss and turn waiting for the
anticipation of the day.The rest
of the house, those who are sleeping, will be woke up the next morning with pancakes,
eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy and strong black coffee. Breakfast has to be hearty to keep you going all
day long.The smell permeates your
nostrils telling you it’s time to get going.

Neighbors,
friends and family come poring in and nobody shows up late. If you do, you won’t
get any grub.The weather is
usually nice, so we generally sit outside to enjoy our breakfast.The ground is littered with patches of
snow at times.Hot coffee always steams up my dad’s glasses as he takes a drink.

After
breakfast the neighbor women and my mom work to clean up.It’s a tradition that no one argues today.Lucky to, because
lunch is always the most amazing chili, homemade with peppers, beef, red beans
and onions.There are some special
family ingredients but we aren’t allowed to share that.

Now
comes the exciting part.The
actually branding.My family’s
brand is the infinity signature, with a capital V for our last name.Each ranch has their own.The cows are moved into the branding
area.Everyone gets into
place.My dad is going to brand,
my nine year cousin is going to hold their tail so that they don’t move, our
closest neighbor Sammy will inoculate them and then Frank, another
neighbor up the road, will put the tags on.Putting a tag on a cow has been compared by others as
piercing a human’s ear.

This
is a day of blood, sweat, some tears and mud.Everyone is dirty by the end of the day.At one point in time a cow will rear up
and try to run out of the shoot.Everyone yells chaotic instructions to try and keep him in, because no
one wants to have to chase him down.However, extra family and neighbors are on horses close by, ready to
lasso them in case.When the day
is finished we eat dinner.An all
American dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, deviled eggs and home
made apple pie.A fire is started
and everyone will stay up late swapping laughs, memories and the good old
days.This is a time to remember
and for a young rancher, like me, well, it’s in my veins.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

My
co-authors have asked me to share a little about myself so you can get to know
me better. I’m not sure where to
start because I have never done anything like this before. When I asked them, they told me to
write what I know. So, here goes
nothing. My parents owned a little
ice cream shop in Shoshoni, Wyoming.
When they first opened it, I had no idea how famous it would be, but I
loved it from the get go and knew I would spend my life there.

The
most amazing thing about the ice cream shop was how great it always
smelled. Ice cream flavors by the
dozen mixed with the smell of different cones. From the moment I walked in the door my mouth would
water. My favorite time was when
you first opened a bucket to replace a new ice cream that had just been
finished. The flavors
swirled around in my head. I
wished sometimes I could mix several flavors together to make some exotic new
flavor, but Mom said to leave them alone.

The
feel of the shop was of a family, and when people came in they knew they were
among friends. There was a young
boy that used to come in every Monday and sit at the counter. He never had the correct amount of
money, but it didn’t matter. My
dad would serve him up a scoop of his favorite flavor, Vanilla. That boy would sit at that counter,
savoring every bite, licking the bowl clean when he finished. An unbreakable bond built over the
scoop of ice cream, no words needed.

Now,
that I’m no longer there, (longer story, which you can read about in, “Flight
from the Water Planet) I miss the ordinary routine of working in the
store. I miss wiping sticky
handprints of happy children off the tables and counters. It makes me sad not to hear the gossip
and local news of the people that would stop by to visit. I miss waffle cones, with a scoop of
butter pecan and walking down the street on a hot summer day, sucking on a
straw to get the smooth, thick chocolate shake from the cup to my waiting taste
buds. I thought my life would
always be in that little shop. I
figured I would carry on the vision of my parents, but instead I’m on a journey
takeing me far from the comforts of home.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Hi, my name is Gillian. My co-creaters, D. Jean Quarles and Austine Etcheverry have asked me to share a little about my life in order for you to get to know me better. After thinking and thinking about the topic I have chosen to describe to you how awful it is to move to a new place in high school.

When my parents told me we would be leaving the sunny Arizona desert to go to a town in Wyoming, I thought I was going to lose my marbles. In fact, I asked my parents if it was a joke. Here I was a sophomore in High School and they wanted me to leave my friends, my debate team. Actually they were telling me to leave my whole life behind and instead buy a winter parka. My mom said I would love the hiking and skiing, the fishing and the backpacking. All I could feel were the wet socks and the disaster coming my way. I had no desire to live with cows or attend a rodeo. I thought my future was going to end.

When I first arrived there it was actually worse then I had imagined. People drove through town as if they had nowhere to be. Kids wore cowboy hats and the biggest belt buckles I'd ever seen. They talked with an accent I struggled to understand. And then, it got even worse. I joined the debate team. It was a team of twenty students who all did multiple events. I only ever competed in one event. At my first meet, people greeted each other as if they had known each other all their life, which I quickly found out was true. These kids had been attending volleyball, soccer, debate meets and other sporting events together since they were probably in diapers. It was quickly explained to me that there were only so many students therefore; a lot of them participated in multiple events.

The hardest part of moving to Wyoming, though, wasn’t the sports, or the way people spoke there, or even making new friends. The hardest part of moving was when I realized my clothes and shoes were obsolete. I had never been one to necessarily spend time shopping or fussing over my outfits, but I sure didn’t think snow boots were a fashion statement I'd enjoyed making. And the winter coats that were pretty, were not near warm enough when that first cold day in Jackson hit. I instantly knew on that day, that warm would drop style any day.

Read more about Gillian's life in Flight From the Water Planet, Book 1 of the Exodus Series.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

The universe is a big place and it leaves me wondering, "are we alone?" What are your thoughts? Comment on Facebook, to enter to win a free copy, "Flight from the Water Planet, Book 1: The Exodus Series."

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

I have been on a mission today to find other writer's blogs that I find interesting. Today I was lucky enough to find Stephanie Myer's blog. Her site is very pretty and caught my attention because of the unique look. Thanks, for sharing the Cullens with the world Stephanie.
http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/index.html

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

I'm sitting at my desk and work (at my real job) and reflecting at how fast the process of writing from start to finish has been. The book is uploaded and has been sent to the printers for a final editing. It is amazing. We're not quite their however, we're well on our way to final product.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

This blog has been created by co-authors Austine Etcheverry and D. Jean Quarles.

Austine Etcheverry has been writing from a young age. Among writing she enjoys teaching, reading, and creating.

D. Jean Quarles has written and published books such as, "Perception, Rocky's Mountains and Jackson's Hole." These titles can be found at Amazonkindle and smashwords.

The first book in our series, Flight from the Water Planet, Book One of Exodus will hit Smashwords, Amazon Kindle and other online book readers on April 16. Be our friend on Facebook, find valuable release dates and presentations on twitter or locate book information on Linkedin.